Latest rumor recap pegs February for the CDMA-only iPhone, and the summer for the world version

Some recap of the latest wishful thinking on a possible Verizon iPhone was necessary, and it comes courtesy of The Street's Senior Tech Reporter Scott Moritz. There have been contradicting rumors ranging from the wild (announcement of an LTE Verizon iPhone right after Christmas) to the mild - about 8 to 9 million Verizon iPhones produced to appear in Big Red's stores in Q1 of 2011.

Now Scott Moritz claims that they have asked their sources on these contradictions, and some analysts claim there is indeed a CDMA-only version of the iPhone, destined for Verizon in mid-February, but the quantities are not enough for a nationwide launch for now. The other clarification states that there is truth to the rumors that Apple is including a Qualcomm world chip in its next iPhone, but the version that will work on any GSM and CDMA carrier will actually be outed at the regular summer schedule, when all new iPhone models appear.

The one notable omission that is blurring the rosy picture for Verizon's customers is what ever happened to AT&T's exclusive agreement with Apple about the iPhone? Did they allow leeway for a few million Verizon customers to get on the iPhone bandwagon in exchange for some extra cash, or did Apple straight out paid the penalty charges, calculating that the profits from the new market will outweigh them?

In any case, it seems that AT&T is preparing for a life without the iPhone exclusivity, but we still don't have anything else but rumors if it will happen in 2011, or 2012, as originally planned. And, considering the latest insider indictments, rumors will probably be as good info as it gets, before one of the big CEOs steps up, and makes an actual announcement. Watch Scott Moritz's musings in the video below.

source: TheStreet